


Fix You

by queenofthereach



Series: Finding Lost Time Series [1]
Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, So Nyuh Shi Dae | Girls' Generation, Super Junior
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Childhood Trauma, F/M, Multi, Murder, Orphanage, Past Relationship(s), Widowed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-14
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-13 04:44:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2137419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofthereach/pseuds/queenofthereach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yoochun had been through so much in his childhood and has been enjoying the peaceful life he lived as he moved back to the countryside as an adult, but is suddenly dragged back to his old life in the city as he attends the funeral of a loved one and vows to avenge their death and is forced to work with a few of the investigatory agents back in Seoul. He realizes his past is not as clean as he wishes it to be and that his childhood is clearly interwoven with a mysterious young woman named Jessica, who seems for familiar to him than he hopes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. part i. chapter i.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thank you so much for checking out this fic of mine and this is my first fanfic work after I took a hiatus in writing ( outside school) for more than 2 years. I hope you guys would enjoy this fic and any critique and suggestions would be wonderful to help me improve as a writer. I am not a perfect writer and I swear many unedited errors may be found through out my writing, but I hope I'll be able to get better as time progresses. I'll also be posting this on my AFF account so you may also find it there later on. ^^ XOXO

It has always been known that Yoochun has always been a very selfless individual and prioritized the needs and wants of others over his own, not because it has been his own nature, but because he had to and if no one was, he wouldn’t be able to live so quietly and peacefully for all he had been through in that case.  
He had lived a so-called “happy, safe and wholesome childhood”, blind from all the lies and false facades that life provided him before all things went to hell on the same day he turned 15, and never looked back since then for this reason.

  
Yoochun had grown up with his younger sister in a middle class, suburban neighborhood just a few kilometers away from Seoul. Green fields, fresh air and a spacious lot had played a large role in their development and experiences as they grew up during their childhoods and to them, in which the specific area is still a place they hold dear to their heart, even if previous memories of that area do still haunt them.  
Their parents weren’t probably the one of the wealthiest around, but they did provide their children just enough for them to feed themselves thrice a day and occasionally get treats on their birthdays and on special milestones in their lives.

  
The two of them grew up with loving parents, who were there to support them both emotionally and physically and they had always made sure that they would be there with them through thick and thin. They would take a leave at work to see them perform at their school’s local production and nearly every weekend, they would go as an entire family for a picnic by the seashore.

  
All of that changed on his 15th birthday, where he had expected to come home with a simply decorated birthday cake, a pair of helium balloons floating on top of his chair and a box of presents filled with the game he had always wanted to get- but he was wrong.

  
The two came home from school blissfully, Yoochun was unable to hold his excitement for what he would get this year as he was now officially a teenager and Yoona couldn’t help but skip along as this was another occasion to have more cake and some sweets on her older brother’s special day of the year.

  
Their father had been lying down unconscious in a pool of blood, seemingly dripping from his insides and had splattered from the silverware on the table that would have been used to serve the food that would have been used for his birthday and stained the newly painted walls that their mother had personally painted just in time for their eldest child’s birthday. His skin was pale as snow, with his eyes closed shut tightly as his body had started to deteriorate and rot at an alarming rate.

  
Broken glass had dispersed all over the ground, with shards and remains of other valuable objects like the porcelain vase on the top counter and their father’s beloved plates from Indonesia collection were all gone and had covered their father like he was a mummy to be buried deep down in a pyramid.

  
A vile, repugnant scent was prominent around the entire house, the scent of decaying flesh that seemed to stick on their clothing like glue that could not be erased or washed off. It seemed as if he had been there for nearly 8 hours, seemingly shortly after the kids had walked their way to school for the day.

  
It confused them that their mother was nowhere to be found at the crime scene and it was just suspicious that in her absence their father was brutally murdered and his life was taken away from him forcefully and violently.

  
Yoochun’s first instinct was to cover his sister’s wandering eyes and shelter her from the truth that he hides from her for her own good. He knew it would be horrible for a 8 year old like her to find her father in this condition where it was supposed to be a celebrated day. Yoochun knew it would be cruel for her to go through all the pain that he had gone through as well and he wanted to change that.  
He held his sister close to him in an embrace as he knelt down on his knees and wrapped a jacket around his sister’s tiny, frail body. “Yoona, don’t look… Just promise me, don’t look.” He muttered a few words and his sister surprisingly just nodded obediently at him and looked away.

  
“What’s wrong, Yoochun oppa? Do I get a surprise on your birthday too?” She curiously asked as she grasped lightly with her brother’s fingers with her smaller ones in an attempt to pull them down from covering her eyes and to see what was going on.

  
Yoochun could not help but stare in horror as he realized that their mother had abandoned them and that they had left the two of them behind with their father ruthlessly left behind dead and murdered with several stab wounds on his back alone.  
His eyes could not divert away from the daunting sight he had just seen and how his life had flashed within a few seconds, now that both of their parents were definitely out of his lives. “No, mother must possibly still be alive. No, I must be dreaming – “Tears fell rapidly down from his red, swollen eyes as he shook his head to himself and ran towards their bedrooms that were faced in the opposite direction of where their father was currently located.

  
Yoona did not let go of her grasp of her older brother’s hand and held behind his silhouette, obediently following every step he made and hid behind him as she refused to look at where their father laid currently, only facing forward.

  
Yoochun ran over to their bedrooms and threw out as many bags as he can find and carry on his own, as he left his sister by the doorway but still far away enough from the horrifying sight he had experienced. He threw in any piece of clothing he could find, from t-shirts, sweaters, underwear, tees and polos to trunk pants, shorts, jeans, leggings and whatever he could currently fit in the bags he had quickly found.

  
After he had gathered all of his and his sister’s clothing that he could currently bring by himself, he slung them around his arms and grabbed her arms hurriedly as he tumbled towards the living room where their landline telephone was located.

  
He dialled and punched in 112 even if his fingers were turning numb and were shaking restlessly in anxiety of what to say and what to do without his parents. “Hello, emergency service landline. How may we help you?” A neutral, feminine voice answered the call and responded. Yoochun gulped nervously as more tears fell down his cheeks before he spoke up to the call.

  
“I’d like to report a murder here at XXX Avenue, Cherry Blossom Street and 13 kilometers south from Seoul of a man in his early 40’s and that his wife has gone missing as well. This is – his son, my name is Park Yoochun and they have also left behind my younger sister, Park Yoona. “He honestly reported to them every detail of the situation, even if he was at first hesitant to tell them everything.  
“And how old are you and how about your sister?” A concerned tone replied quietly as if to keep the information confidential. “I am 15 years old, while my sister is 8.” Yoochun answered flatly and bluntly, as if he was drained emotionally completely after what he has seen and other hand still circled around his younger sister’s shoulder.  
“Do you have any relatives nearby?” “None of which we are aware of.” “…We’ll be calling someone to look over the two of you.”  
“What’s going on, oppa?” Yoona tugged on his navy cardigan’s sleeve meticulously as she looked up to him with wide, curious eyes and bit on her lip.  
He deliberately ignored his sister’s question while he was still on the line, instead stroking her hair softly as he listened to the emergency center’s agent and what she would say to the two of them.

  
“The police and the ambulance would be arriving in 10 minutes, so the two of you just wait there patiently, alright?” An uneasy sigh was heard on the line before she gave him slight advice in to wait until someone would arrive to take care of the two of them.  
Yoochun responded with a timid “Yes” before he hung the phone after the emergency spokesperson had ceased to reply. He looked around and glanced at his father for the last time before shifting his attention and kneeling down to the height of his sister.  
“Yoona-yah, we will have to postpone the birthday celebration first alright? We will just have to go somewhere, far, far away… Just trust oppa, okay?” He pulled over the plunging jacket that was sliding down her neck and secured it around her head tightly.

  
She nodded silently as she enclosed her arms around his neck and he lifted her up the ground as he carried her and place her on his back, in which he supported her from the front.  
The two of them then walked out of the then treasured home of theirs of which was now defiled, ravished and broken from the happiness it emitted early in their childhood. Yoochun had no idea where he had to go, where to go or who to go to, but all he wanted was to be anywhere but here.  
“Just keep walking, keep going and don’t look back-“He reminded himself over and over again as he kept walking up and down the hill and straight then diagonally up the path, not knowing where it leads up to.

  
After more than 2 hours of wandering through the suburbs and cities still unsure of where to go, Yoochun nearly felt like he could just collapse and die at that very moment. Even the little Yoona was fast asleep on her brother’s back, arms still tightly locked around his neck.  
He stumbled down on the cold, concrete ground, completely exhausted as a result of travelling on foot non-stop without rest and for more than his body could even take. Resting his head against red brick walls, the world turned black as his eyes closed shut and fell asleep as he drifted off to dreamland.

  
The next moment he woke up, it was already bright with the sunlight shining brightly against him and the birds chirped gallantly around him. His younger sister was still tightly clinging onto his shirt on top of him, completely dozing out and was napping peacefully.

  
One thing that startled him the most, however, was a sympathetic and compassionate old woman right next to him with a bright smile, he recognized that she had curly and graying hair with a particular white streak from her left forehead. She was offering a hand of help pointing towards him, and behind her was a couple of more kind looking ahjummas and ahjusshis who seemed to work under this mysterious woman.

  
“Are you alright, dear? Some locals have reported to me that you and your sister have been sleeping in the streets overnight. I work with the government into adopting orphans and abused children, or would you like me to help you find your parents for a while?” She smiled as she bent down to his level on the ground and spoke very considerately not to startle him. To ease his concerns, she took out a leather covered case and opened its flap to show an official id with the seal of the government.

  
He stared at her in silence, still trying to comprehend what has been spoken to him, still contemplating to reply by accepting her offer of taking them in or find their parents. Yoochun thought that if he decided to move in with this old woman who took in children who had no one else but themselves, he and his sister would be able to eat well and sleep in warm beds at night.  
In contrast, of trying to find where their mother was even located or to find out if she was still alive in her whereabouts would be a completely useless option, especially as a voice inside of him always tells him that their mother won’t even hesitate to find where her children are or even vow revenge for what happened to her now late husband.  
“I am okay, ahjumma. Well, both of our parents are no longer with us- “ He nervously blurted out still with his sleeping sister in his arms and stood up with her still clinging tightly around his neck.

  
The old, kind woman laughed. “Sweetheart don’t worry, our children’s housing would not hesitate to take in you and your sister. All we need is to file specific papers and get you settled until you and your little sister will be able to live with the rest of the children.” She stroked his shoulder just like how his mother usually did.

  
“You can call Mrs. Hwang or call me mother if you are more comfortable with that.” Mrs. Hwang grinned graciously as the children and caressed her fingers through the locks of the sleeping figure resting on his chest.

  
Yoona squirmed in his arms, twitched her hands around and opened her eyes widely with a yawn as she was disturbed by the noise she was hearing and her eyes went wide as she saw a complete stranger talking to her older brother. She got down on her feet and kept her palm firmly grasped in her brothers’, shyly hiding beneath his thighs as she looked away from the old woman.

  
“Dongsaeng-ah, we’re going to have a new family and a house now.” Yoochun managed to smile despite the tragedies they’ve experienced the previous day; Yoona responded with a contented grin as she no longer hid behind her brother, cheerfully excited for what the future holds for the both of them.  
Yoochun felt the rays of sunshine gleamingly upon him, as he sorrowfully drew a hand against the tinted windows, wondering how that life used to be so merry and jubilant had turned into this total nightmare in real life in which he had no one else but his little sister, only little Yoona by his side.

  
Even as he saw his father lying dead on the cold, marbled ground with scarlet fluids flowing non-stop from his insides, he still had this spark of hope that they would at least have their mother with them and that they would have their support even if their father’s gone.

  
He was proved wrong, then again, as their mother seemed to disappear as if she had never existed in their household and that her existence was completely washed off the scourges of their then loving home. He vowed to himself that he would protect Yoona, the poor little thing affected in this messy game their parents had decided to play.  
Yoona has always been somewhat Yoochun’s “little princess”; He was extremely delighted and excited upon the birth of his little sister and had always been quite attached and close to his younger sibling. He knew that this would be the start of a new chapter in their lives, and that he would make sure she would live a better life than him.  
He bent down and stretched his upper body to lightly kiss Yoona on the forehead, as she sat on her lap and giggled gallantly as she played around and intuitively investigated through the brand, new toys Mrs. Hwang gifted her.

  
Yoochun made it as a goal for himself to avenge his father, find their mother and protect Yoona, _especially protect Yoona._


	2. part i. chapter ii.

Early in his childhood, he had dreamed that he would eventually meet a girl who he would meet and would immediately know that she is the one for him and he is the one for him. Back when he used to think when the world was just full of rainbows, fairy dust and unicorns, he had imagined that the girl he would marry would be beautiful, charming, had an outstanding personality and basically excelled in everything she did.

  
Of course, as he grew up, Yoochun realized that nothing in this world was perfect and that everything had a flaw, had a curse and that no matter how impeccable, something seemed on the outside, in the inside it would be ruined, broken and that it would have at least one trait that if not used properly, it would be the source of its downfall.

  
Especially after he saw his father’s lifeless body lay on the ground, he realized that no matter how terrible and cruel the world treats you, if you only respond with love and care, it would win against all the evil and monovalent things in the world.

  
Deep inside, he had either wished to be adopted by a loving family who would not end up abandoning them and leaving them by themselves once more. Even if there was a chance that he probably wouldn’t be adopted at all.

  
He vowed even if he wouldn’t even dare to find a lover of his own and dedicate his whole life to taking care of his sister, even if he sees her get married and have a family of her own and that his whole life he had been served with a golden platter and now it was his turn to give back.  
….  
Yoochun opens his eyes to see a spacious, bricked 2-story mansion that was easily identified and seen from afar due to its bright red color that stood out clearly to him. His half-crescent lidded eyes peeking through the tinted glass and curiosity takes the better of him. Little Yoona was already wide awake and was currently nudging her brother’s knee to shake him out of his slumber.

  
“Oppa, wake up! We’ve arrived now.” She whines excited as she takes his hand in her much smaller ones and jumped up and down impatiently, not being able to contain her enthusiasm.  
“Alright, Yoong-ah – Oppa is getting up, we’ll be getting off already.” He smiles tiredly as he looks down and messes up her hair playfully, his fingers shifting through her locks delicately.

  
“The two of you will be living here for now on until willing parents may take you in and adopt the two of you as their own children.” Mrs. Hwang softly brushes her wrinkled fingers against their shoulders, as she steps down and waits patiently for the two of them to step down the car.  
Yoona deliberately jumps off the car and lands perfectly on her bare two feet, even if the height of the fall may have concerned her older brother greatly. Yoochun steps out of the car with his backpack tightly secured on his back and held all the used bags he could have brought with him on both of his arms.

  
He unknowingly sighs as he attentively looks around his surroundings, noticing a swarm of children his age around him playing and having the time of their lives even if none of them may even be related. He knows that this moment will be the perfect time for him to move on, for him and Yoona to move on.

  
The past had been too nice to him, until it had struck the hitting blow at him, the moment that had changed his life forever. He was never the same person after that moment, especially as he had imagined that everything was fine and perfect until his father was found dead and his mother was suspiciously gone for the moment.

  
The first figure that approaches him as he makes his way in was a pale, male teenager that had a lanky figure and had large doe-eyes that caught his attention. He assumed that he was the same age and the same height as him, with his short, raven-colored hair making his features look even sharper and more angled. A rumpled, browning thick brown History book was found enveloped between his arms, securely locking it in as if he was afraid if a thief would steal it away from him.

  
“Hello, I am Park Yoochun and I believe you have been taken in by Mrs. Hwang too?” Yoochun reluctantly offers a hand to be shaken, while the boy just timidly nods and looks at him with a cautious expression.

  
It is nearly a minute before the other boy responds with a tight handshake and quietly utters something that sounded even more pessimistic as he went. “I’m Kim Jaejoong and I’ve been here since I was 5. I haven’t seen any relative or anyone who was willing to adopt me ever since.”

  
Yoochun nearly wanted to frown as it struck him that maybe his fate may end up like him and that probably Yoona had a greater chance of being adopted and she would be separated from him. He scolded himself on being so selfish to even think about himself in this very moment, he was supposed to make this new friend feel better and show some empathy at least. Although he did appreciate his frank attitude in speech, something he won’t be able to master.

  
“I am so sorry to hear that, I do wish the best for you.” He said slowly, still careful in case the newly met stranger would be offended in any way.  
“That’s alright. I’ve met other kids who’ve been here longer than I have, and have only been adopted when they are 17 or so.” Jaejoong spoke up in a nonchalant tone as he continued walking the same direction Yoochun was walking towards.

  
The two had kept walking towards the orphanage’s main living room in complete silence, with no words exchanged even if both had hesitantly tried to ease the awkward atmosphere.  
“May I ask when your birthday is?” Yoochun chirped curiously as he watched the other grab two packs of orange juice from the refrigerator.

  
“Mine’s on January 26 or that’s the official date I use for documents. I’m currently 15 and will turn 16 by the New Year. When’s yours then?” The older of the two shook his shoulders casually as he slammed the refrigerator door carefully and sat down next to his new “friend”.

  
“That makes me younger than you then- May I refer to you using hyung?” “I wouldn’t mind.” He nodded.  
“So hyung, are there any kids here that you are particularly close to?” The younger of the two cleared his throat as he slowly sat down a tangerine colored gingham pattered couch beside him, slouching his body in comfort on the firm couch.

  
“Well… there are these two other kids named Junsu and Changmin who I usually hang out most of the time with. You could join our small clique if you want unless you meet the other kids.” Jaejoong fiddled endlessly with his fingers before he pointed at two kids outside by the window who were covered in slick mud and had obviously just finished a round of soccer as shown by their exhausted expressions.

  
Yoochun stood up next to the counter to see a pair of two boys, with one surprisingly taller than the more petite yet athletic one. The taller one seemed a lot more shy and naïve than the boisterous and outgoing one, as shown by the pair of thin-rimmed glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose and the piles of books and notebooks that were sticking out and shoved onto his green-colored backpack behind him.

  
The shorter yet more muscular and curvaceous among the two seemed very optimistic and was more into sports than academics at all compared to his companion. A red jersey sweater, lanky jogging pants and a pair of dirt drenched sneakers have just added up to his perception that he really was an athletic and fun-loving person.

  
“Come on, you want to meet them?” Yoochun shifted his attention as he heard the older boy’s voice towards the door and was offered a box of orange juice for him. “Sure, if you don’t mind. Thank you for the orange juice by the way.” He nodded as he obediently followed behind him and sipped some orange juice from the box with a mint colored straw.  
To Yoochun’s surprise, Jaejoong grinned at him shortly for a split second in which Yoochun had nearly missed seeing and he couldn’t help but smile back out of relief that he had a new friend that he would be kept company at the orphanage where he would stay until some couple decides to take him and hopefully his sister as well.

  
The two of them walked over towards the plain, empty wide field that went on for acres and acres, where they found the two other boys lazily lying on the grass fields and closing their eyes for what seemed like a short nap, even if they were covered with shards of grass and spots of soil and mud.  
“You lazy bums, get up! If the two of you are late for dinner we’ll all get scolded in the end!” Jaejoong rolled his eyes in frustration and started to lightly kick grass towards his two friends; both responded with grunting and rubbing their foreheads repeatedly in a circulating motion due to somewhat a headache.

  
“Hey hyung stop hitting us, we’re getting already!” Changmin lazily complained as he sat up from the ground slowly with eyes still half-closed as he rubbed the back of his head back and forth as a result of the pain he felt in that area and yawned loudly.  
Junsu and Changmin looked up to see a stranger they had never seen before, before they had glanced at one another in a synchronous motion and bobbed their heads in agreement.

  
“So are you the new kid Mrs. Hwang has been telling us about?” Junsu optimistically stood up and eyed the unfamiliar figure that stood next to Jaejoong. Yoochun nodded and smiled silently at him.  
“Don’t be shy, we’ll all get along here! I’m Junsu and this guy next to me is Shim Changmin, he’s Mrs. Hwang’s nephew and lives just a house away from here. You’ll see him often too!” Junsu laughed heartily and offered a handshake with his right hand, at the same time he encircled his right arm around Changmin’s shoulders, even if they were a lot higher than his.  
Changmin grinned shyly at the new friend, he had just made and waved shortly before pushing back his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I assume you’ve met Jaejoong hyung before as well. If you’re younger than him and Junsu-hyung, you’re probably going to be my hyung as well. Well I’m 14 and I’m turning 15 next year.”  
“I’m Park Yoochun and I was born on June 4, 1986, so does that make me younger than both of them and older than you?” “Well you’re older than Junsu hyung and I but you’re younger than Jaejoong hyung.”

  
Yoochun looked at his new friends gratefully and happily as he could not help but keep smiling at them even when they started bickering and teasing one another playfully. “ It’s good to have people who accept you the way you are.” He told himself silently.  
“Would you like to meet the other kids? I believe some of them are playing cards inside.” Jaejoong stopped his steps as he paused in the middle of the hallway, causing the other boys behind him to stop walking abruptly as well.  
Junsu looked at him with wide, surprised eyes and shook his head in boredom. “Why are we going to play cards with them, especially with my sister when we can play outside when the weather is good? I think it would be nice to show our new friend our neighborhood as well.”  
He wrapped his arms around Yoochun’s shoulders and smiled cheerfully in an attempt to welcome him further in the new community he was in, even if his new friend may have flinched for a few seconds.  
“It sounds wonderful- I mean, if it’s fine with you guys-“ Yoochun rambled nervously before Junsu cut him off. “ Of course it is, you’ll also be able to see Changmin’s house and oh, the house at the end of the street, a family of rich people live there.”  
“The Jung’s live there hyung, they also partially support the orphanage financially, which is why it looks as awesome as it is now. A pretty girl around my age lives there too.” Changmin replies confidently as he marches straight towards the street where he lives.  
Junsu smiled an evil grin as he thought of what he classified as a brilliant idea, earning a reluctant glare from Jaejoong who was silently whispering “Don’t do it.”, as he thought it was a horrible idea. He was too late.

  
“Why don’t we introduce you to her before her overprotective brother comes up and kicks us out?” He teased lightly.  
Changmin looked at him with an unbelieving expression, as he took off his eyeglasses out of shock. “Are you kidding? Don’t get us in trouble again, please. “He raised his arms up in exhaustion, prompting to walk away in his disagreement with the idea.  
“It’ll be fun, I promise. Right, Jaejoong hyung?” “ If you hold me liable for this just because I am your hyung- I will kick your ass.” “Thanks hyung, I knew you always had my back.” Junsu smiles back sweetly, taking his answer for a yes.  
Yoochun stood there in confusion, still baffled on what was currently going on and was contemplating on rather to refuse or not. “It probably won’t be that bad – You’re just meeting a friend not a possible blind date candidate, Park Yoochun get your mind together.” He thought to himself.  
Junsu dragged them towards the Jung family’s manor, which had a green, exotic patio by the front of their manor, before they walked over towards the family’s gate.  
The gate was jet black and nearly a story high, pointing up with sapphire gems gracing the fleur-de-lis decorations that was found on the gate and provided a wonderful first impression of what the family was like.

  
“Junsu-shi, what are you trying to do?” Yoochun looked down in horror and gulped nervously as he saw Junsu put down his ball and look up towards the inside of the manor behind the gate. “Nothing, trust me, I won’t break anything.” He replied carelessly.  
Within a millisecond, Junsu raises his leg and kicks his black and white soccer ball upwards, high enough for it to reach up in the air and fall down quickly within the Jung family’s property.  
“Jae hyung, Minnie yah – both of you go behind the bushes- I’ll introduce him to her.” He winked at the remaining boys behind Yoochun with a whisper, as the other two hesitantly hid behind the large bush that clearly hid them well.

  
Yoochun crossed his fingers deep inside that it wasn’t some of their housekeepers, her parents or even her brothers who would open the door, hoping that he wouldn’t get beaten up on his first day at the orphanage.  
To his surprise, however, a little girl who appeared to look like the age of 5 appeared once the door section of the gate opened, holding the soccer ball that was even larger than her tiny, little fingers and looked at them with a distressed and vexed expression, before throwing the ball by their feet and crossing her arms irritatingly.  
He didn’t think a girl this short, little and petite would be the same age as someone like Changmin, especially since the high pitched voice didn’t make sense either.  
“Soojung-ah, you still haven’t finished your milk.” The voice of what seemed like a teenage girl was heard echoing from inside the large mansion and the little girl rolled her eyes upsettingly.

  
“You troublemakers are lucky that my older sister is here.” The little girl mumbled before she silently walked away back to the dining room.  
Yoochun looked at Junsu displeasingly and tugged on his sleeves repeatedly as a signal for them to run for their lives before they get into more trouble. Junsu didn’t even budge or move a muscle as he stood there smiling, anticipating for the pretty teenage girl he was talking about.

  
A dainty and slender figured teenage girl with bright, curious eyes, peach colored chapped lips with long, straight black locks that fell down her shoulders looked out confused on what was going on, but scowled skeptically as she caught sight of Junsu.  
This is it. She’s probably the girl they’d been talking about in the fairy tales of Yoochun’s childhood, she’s probably the one. He was enchanted from the very first glance he looked at her, it wasn’t just the looks, but it was also the aura she glowed had kept him indirectly staring at her while she was dealing with Junsu.

  
“Junsu oppa, are you here again to bicker with my sister or my brother?” She mocked him lightly as she slouched against the marble post that supported the towering gate. By the time she had finished speaking, she noticed the unfamiliar figure that timidly stood next to me.

  
She looked at him as he was already looking at her, which prompted him to look away shyly as he attempted to not get caught staring at her.  
“It looks like you guys have a new friend from the orphanage. I’m Jung Sooyeon and I’m 14. Well that other kid you just met, that’s my little sister Soojung. ” She smiled shortly before bowing at the new member of the gang who liked messing with her.

  
Yoochun stood there awkwardly and nodded with drifting eyes, fingers moving restlessly as they hid behind his back. “It’s nice meeting you, I’m Park Yoochun and I’m 15.”  
Sooyeon laughs for what seemed like after a long time, as Junsu and even Jaejoong and Changmin from afar look at her in surprise for making it seem like it’s been so long since she’s laughed with them.  
Yoochun knows this is the start of a new beginning and that probably, he may be able to move forward from the dreadful past that has brought him down.


	3. part i. chapter iii.

It has been more than 2 months since Yoochun had moved into the orphanage with his sister and has been more than a month since he had been diagnosed with clinical depression. Yoochun had been feeling better in the company of Jaejoong, Changmin and Junsu, who all have been his rays of sunshine and have all made sure to never leave him behind and crack some jokes once in a while to keep him happy.

  
In the spite of the happiness and relief his new friends and the new loving community has been giving him, the painful memories and scars of the past still haunted Yoochun in the night and that his father’s soul was still calling on him to avenge his death and find the true murderer.  
After Mrs. Hwang and the other children in the orphanage had noticed Yoochun was acting a bit gloomy and quieter than usual, they consulted to bring him to a doctor and he therefore is actually scientifically depressed.

  
To the relief of everyone, after taking his medicine regularly and going through weekly therapy in order to control his mental and emotional state, he had been showing signs of improvement and had started to smile more often over the course of time.

  
Jaejoong had given an old, empty notebook that he had found within the depths of his wooden closet to Yoochun for him to express and write down his feelings and the memories that have been left, in which he thought would be a perfect measure to help him move on from his depressed state.  
Even for a month after, Yoochun had greatly appreciated his gift and has written down on it every day since he had received it and had not missed a day at all, even if he had spent most of that day outside playing soccer or hanging out at Changmin’s house nearby.

  
He had been showing signs of improvement slowly and had started to become the optimistic and joyful young boy he had always been, but he had now become a young man and still kept the burdens of his father’s murder deep inside his heart, no matter if it did not show at all outside.  
Though vengeance was not all he had in mind, since he knew that living and breathing vengeance would ruin him in the end and that he had something else rather than avenging the death of one long gone, taking care of Yoona.

  
His little sister was the last fragment of the picture he had called family and the only living thing he had loved and held dearly still alive and with him today. To be able to take care of her and become a better older brother figure, he had to become she could look up to and be proud of and he knew he had to work on it in the long run.

  
The future has so much on hold for him and for everyone with him, Yoochun knew that he could become a better person than his mother had been, his father should have been and better than what his parents had expected of him.  
….  
Yoochun scribbled endlessly on the page in which he had flapped open, incomprehensible writing that swirled and scratched the paper endlessly, his words going on and on as he jotted down everything that had happened and what he had felt during the day.

  
He always made sure he would always write something down in the beginning of his day early in the morning as he gets up and at the end of the day late at night as he was about to get to bed. Yoochun knew it was important that he would be able to express what was unfathomable in words and actions to anyone he would try to talk to.

  
“Yoochun-ah, aren’t you going going to play some baseball later? If you’re coming, we’re going to be late or if you don’t want to go, it’s alright.” A voice that Yoochun recognized like Junsu’s rung loudly in his ears, which prompted him to hide his diary under the cloth of his mattress and throw his pen towards his study table.  
“I’m coming!” He grabbed his worn-out baseball bat and crumpling baseball glove that had stitches falling out and its fabric falling apart, running outside his room and slamming the door hurriedly.

  
Yoochun panted as he reached the bottom flight of stairs, his palms gripped tightly on his knees and his upper body bent down as he took a moment to take a breath and calm down from all the running he had done from the third floor.  
“It looks like we’re not going to play baseball today; Mrs. Hwang told us the Jung’s are coming over.” Junsu turned over with a disappointed expression as he set aside his baseball materials and slowly walked away.  
A sense of excitement and contentment had filled Yoochun’s stomach with butterflies and his cheeks slightly turned scarlet as he thought of the new friend he had made in the Jung manor.

  
“Well Jaejoong hyung’s going to see Yunho hyung this time.” Changmin teased jokingly as he nudged Jaejoong’s shoulder. “For the last time, I am not gay for Jung Yunho.” Jaejoong spoke out clearly as he emphasized every syllable he spoke and rolled his eyes in annoyance.  
“You haven’t met Jung Yunho yet?” Junsu asked as he noticed Yoochun’s confused expression, who in turn responded as he shook his head. “She’s Jung Sooyeon’s older brother, the girl you met a few months ago on your first day here. She looks just like him, personality and first impression wise- scary and serious looking.”  
“They’re not that scary, it’s just that both of them all have tendencies to be very straight-forward and are very rigid with following the rules.” Changmin laughed awkwardly before he marched over to the kitchen to grab a green apple.

  
The boys had remained gathered near the stairway and were chatting gallantly as they sat on each of their respective steps, until Mrs. Hwang entered through the main door and panicked shortly as she noticed the boys were not yet prepared for the guests they would entertain.

  
“Boys, come on please get dressed. The Jung’s are coming in an hour and I am sure all of you are excited to see them as well.” She shooed them upstairs gently before she ran off to the reception room to prepare the house further.

  
“Yes, Mrs. Hwang.” The boys replied obediently in unison before they raced themselves back upstairs to their room once she left.  
….

  
All the children in the orphanage are lined up in a uniformed manner, sitting patiently on chiffon dyed plastic chairs against the pecan colored marble floor and the crimson brick walls that held the house together.  
Yoochun sat wearily in between Junsu and Jaejoong, who were all by the coincidence the exact same height, but all stood out differently due to their different colored shirts; Yoochun wore a purple v-neck shirt of cotton material, Jaejoong wore a plain black tank top and a cream wool sweater on top and Junsu wore a brown polo shirt with a light blue periwinkle cardigan.

  
The Jung family came in lead by their patriarch, Mr. Jung who was dressed formally in a suit and a cobalt tartan plaid tie that clearly stood out from afar. Following him was his wife Mrs. Jung, wearing an elegant sheath style white and black dress that stood out with a white colored cape that matched her top and their children: Yunho who is dressed in a trendy gray vest over his plain white shirt, Sooyeon stood there prettily in a light lavender polo dress and little Soojung proudly stood out in a ruby colored drop waist dress.  
The family had been active in philanthropic and charity work for over a century throughout the generations that have founded a multi-national company and served the benefits of the less fortunate, gaining enemies from other wealthy families and corporations who were envious and only see their generosity as a marketing scheme to trick people into thinking they were great people who cared about others.

  
Mr. Jung took a step forward and breathed in deeply before he began to speak loudly. “Ladies, gentlemen and children -it has been wonderful to be able to be gathered among you all as we honor and continue the tradition in which we the Jung family maintain the support in which we had extended this orphanage for years. “  
The speech had gone on for what seemed like forever and no one had noticed one of the girls in the Jung family sneak away secretly, hoping no one would see her but one person did, Yoochun noticed.  
…..  
Sooyeon laid her body against the dark green shards of grass that crawled against her skin and stained her gown with scorches of mud and dirt. Her ebony colored hair shone under the piercing glares of sunlight, seeming dark brown instead as her luscious locks dispersed themselves and were tangled intricately in between the remnants of pulled-out grass.

  
She held a couple of wilting daisies in her palms, their beautiful qualities and perfume-like scent, no longer found as she carefully plucked each petal before they gracelessly dropped to the ground. Sooyeon kept her focus completely on the flowers she gently took out, before she stood up abruptly as she felt the presence of another person behind her.

  
“Who’s there?” She reacted in shock and attempted to threaten the person behind her pointing out the nearly bald daisy up to his face, only to hear a surprised yet contented chuckle from the person who recognized as Yoochun.

  
Yoochun stood nearby the large cherry blossom tree that roofed the both of them with its pink petals that were securely locked against its branches and caved over them like a human would over an ant. He smiled teasingly, laughing even harder, which caused Sooyeon to redden up in embarrassment.  
“Are you sure you can provoke me with a daisy that barely has any petals?” He asked jokingly, walking towards Sooyeon even as she began to turn around and sit down as she ignored his question half-heartedly. “I sure can.” She retorted loudly before resuming lying down on the soft grass that rubbed her skin softly.

  
“Mind if I join you down there?” Yoochun looked down curiously and got on his knees to discreetly examine her features on which he only fully was aware of this very moment. “Feel free to lay down. I don’t own this place, silly.” Sooyeon shrugged her shoulders casually without even looking up for a second glance.

  
He rested his head only a few centimeters away from her, unknowingly feeling the warmth that came from her body being so close to him. Yoochun place both of his arms behind his head, his eyes glued to the enchanting sight right above him.

  
The sun had just set and the sky had started to darken, the orange glow turned into a haunting, dark violet as the stars had started to come out as they hid behind the clouds and came out at the right time. Sooyeon herself has always been an enthusiast for stargazing and the likes, having not missed any sunsets and the first appearances of stars in the night sky for a consecutive year and had wished to continue that record further.

  
“So what are you particularly looking about?” Yoochun muttered out loudly as he curiously looked up towards the sky, only to be shushed immediately with a finger on his mouth. “We’re looking at the stars.” Sooyeon whispered furiously as she places down her hand and rested her body once again on the solid ground.

  
He stared back in silence, keeping his attention as he carefully examined through Sooyeon’s features, especially those miniscule characteristics like the chestnut color of her eyes that shined under the moonlight and her thick eyelashes that seemed even thicker as he looked even closer.

“The potential that something greater than life and out of this world can be found within those stars, and that another world or alternate universe that awaits for us is found within those stars just-It bewilders me.” Sooyeon sighs tiredly as she arches her neck up to look up at the sky even closer,  
breaking the awkward silence as she looked down before sitting back up to rub her arms repetitively as a result of the dropping temperatures that have caused goose bumps to form on her skin.

  
Yoochun turned his head and shuddered as he noticed that Sooyeon had stood up and had left the spot she had rested on; worried that he may have done something that may have offended her. “Are you cold or did I say something wrong?” He bolted up as he ran over to her, as he followed her around while she had gathered her bag to prepare to leave.  
“You said nothing wrong, Yoochun. It’s just that it’s getting dark, I’m feeling cold and you probably are too, so it’s time for us to go in and I could just watch the stars from inside instead now.” Sooyeon shook her head sluggishly, yawning and stretching her arms side wards as she walked over the tree’s prominent roots and traced her steps backwards from where the orphanage was found.

  
He panicked for a few seconds, clutching his backpack behind his back and running to be able to keep up to her even as he tripped over the roots before he was able to catch up behind her. Yoochun hastily brings out his bag and takes the first piece of heavy cloth he can find- a purple wool blanket that had a significant polka-dotted pattern imprinted on it and was thick enough to be used for the dead of winter.

  
He covered the blanket over her head and shoulders, sheltering her upper body and rubbing over the scalp of her head as a sudden wave of warmth flowed in her body. “Yoochun-shi – You don’t have to give this to me-“ Sooyeon looked up with a confused expression as she noticed the blanket on her head and held on it to take it off and return it to him, only to be refused as he held out a hand to deny her returning it.

  
“No it’s yours Sooyeon-shi , it’s my gift to you.” Yoochun firmly refused as he gently pushed away the blanket away from him, looking away in an attempt to not make any eye contact with her whatsoever. She pouted slightly at his stubborn attitude in the moment, but then sighed in defeat to take the blanket instead.

  
“Thank you so much, Yoochun-shi. I’ll really take care of the blanket!” Sooyeon sincerely thanked him as they walked slowly back to the orphanage, smiling slightly. “You better take care of yourself first, Sooyeon-ah. Alright?” He grinned teasingly and ruffled the hair on the top of her head playfully, in which her head scrunched in reaction. She nodded shortly before they made their way back to the orphanage in silence, only to see her older brother Yunho running out in panic.

  
“Sooyeon-ah, where have you been? Mother has been looking for you for nearly an hour and if Father finds out, you will be in so much trouble.” Yunho slowly speaks up out of concern rather than out of anger at his little sister, the shortness of his breath clearly heard as he pants in between his words.

  
“I was just looking at the stars with Yoochun-shi, I don’t think you’ve met him before? He’s one of Jaejoong and Changmin’s friends?” She walked over towards her brother, the blanket still wrapped around her head as she introduced the two to one another. Yoochun smiled at his friend’s older brother, shyly trying not to make a wrong impression.  
Yunho stood there for more than a few seconds as he stared at Yoochun attentively, before responding with his roaring laughter and extending a hand out in signal that he would like to be friends with him. “I’m Jung Yunho and as you can see, I’m her sister. You mess with her means you mess with me, alright?”

  
Maybe staying out in the cold to watch the sunset and see the stars glitter in the sky wasn’t that bad, as life eventually did get better for him, _for now_.


	4. part i. chapter iv.

_“Yoochun-ah, Yoochun-ah – Mother misses you.” A haunting, ghostly voice appears in front of him, dressed in a simple pale white silk gown that fell to the ground as she managed to somewhat a step closer and closer to him even if he couldn’t see the traces of her feet walking towards him._

  
_He recognizes the voice and the figure as his mother’s, looking nearly exactly identical to how he last saw her, except she had such dull, spiritless eyes that it horrified him. Those were like how his father’s eyes were when he last saw him as well._

  
_He traces his steps backwards, foot by foot as he stares up in horror of the sight he was seeing and that his mother was right behind him. Yoochun attempts to run away, but instead trips into the corner instead, his mother’s shadow growing over him as she moved even closer towards him._

  
_“Where we you mother when we needed you most? Yoona and I couldn’t do anything when father needed you the most!” He furiously exclaimed as he slid himself backwards in an attempt to escape but was instead stuck by one corner._

  
_A melancholic expression appeared on her face and a feeling of sympathy struck Yoochun deeply, even if it felt wrong for him due to the situation they were in. “I did what was best for all of you and I was aware that both of you would be in great hands even if your father was no longer with the two of you.” Choking sobs were vaguely heard as her figure started flying away from him, her image getting distorted as she went farther and farther._

  
_“Mother no, why! We need you and please tell us where you are, please mom, I beg of you?!” He stood up as he tried to reach out for her hand as if she was actually there as she drifted away from him. Yoochun shouted as loud as he could as he cried out of frustration and anger, still utterly confused on what was really going on._

  
_A tear fell down her cheek as she stood by the bright light in which you could see nothing beyond it. “It’s too early for you to understand right now Yoochun but eventually you will. I promise..”_  
 _And everything turns to white and he sees nothing but empty darkness as she enters into the light as his eyesight fails to see anything the moment she walked in._  
….  
Yoochun opens his eyes and the first thing he hears as soon as he gets up is the ringing sound of his alarm clock in his ears, completely irritating him as he gets up in frustration and walks over to their shared bathroom to get changed into his school uniform that he neatly hanged up by his closet.

  
“Hey Chun-yah, you should come down now so we can at least have breakfast before going to school!” Jaejoong shouts right into Yoochun’s ears, obviously impatient that he has not even left his bed and that he was already all dressed with his backpack and slung on his back.  
“Why are you waking me up so early, it’s just 6:15 am and we usually have breakfast at 8:30 or 9 am?” Yoochun rubbed his ears in pain and yawned sleepily as he sat up to check his blinking digital clock and looked at Jaejoong in disbelief.

  
Jaejoong rolled his eyes and grabbed the neatly pinned calendar on his sapphire colored wall and shoved it right at his face. “It’s the first day of school and it takes 15 minutes to get there by foot.”

  
The younger male stared at him blankly for a few seconds before panicking in realization that he would be late for school if he doesn’t start getting ready and runs right into the bathroom to get ready. In around 10 minutes sharp, he comes out dressed in his uniform with his backpack in his hand and stumbled slowly down the stairs.

  
“It’s time for breakfast oppa – What took you so long?” Yoona grabbed her brother’s hand tightly and complained lightly as she pouted at his direction and questioned him so seriously. Yoochun smiled down cheekily and messed up his sister’s hair playfully as he kneels down to her level.  
“Oppa unfortunately forgot that I had to get up for school and eat breakfast earlier, little Yoong.” He bopped his nose on his little sister’s before he got up to sit for breakfast as she giggled girlishly at him afterwards.

  
Yoochun sat on the cream colored wooden chair in between Junsu by the right and Changmin to the left, with both eating hungrily and eagerly, but especially the one sitting beside him by his left side. He glanced forward to see a large platter of kimchi and a huge bowl of noodle soup directly in front of him and his porcelain plate.

  
It brightened up his mood to look around and see how he was in such a loving and accepting environment like he had lived in just like he had before the traumatizing experience he had a few months prior that had nearly ruined his life, though it seemed possible that he would be able to move on from it.  
Deep inside, he did regret he was not able to stay long enough to be able to see his father properly buried and to see him actually be properly laid to rest with a coffin and tombstone. He vowed to his father instead to find out who really ended his father’s life earlier than intended and put him rightfully in jail to be able to truly have his father rest in peace.

  
He finished up his breakfast and set it aside by the sink before walking off by the doorway where Jaejoong, Changmin and Junsu had been waiting patiently for him to get ready. They had all been about to leave for school, before Mrs. Hwang runs to the doorway with four umbrellas tucked under her arms.

  
“The three of you should bring an umbrella, my goodness. I would not like the three of you to get sick, especially if the other kids get sick as well because of the four of you.” She hands out the umbrellas for each of them as she shook her head in disapproval that they did not bring an umbrella for themselves.  
“Mrs. Hwang, we’ll be alright today it’s fine. It’s just very cloudy.. and dark today.” Junsu laughed jokingly as he politely refused their caretaker’s umbrella as he looked up at the skies to see what the weather was, surprised to see that it had started to drizzle and the rain had gotten stronger as the hours went by.  
“I’ll take it one, then, Mrs. Hwang. Just to be sure in case it rains really bad later on.” Yoochun reluctantly takes a charcoal, wrinkled umbrella from her arms and smiles boyishly as he tugs on Jaejoong’s sleeve to get going immediately before they get late for school.

  
Mrs. Hwang took a deep breath and shook her head with a smile as she could not really stop their stubbornness. “Teenage boys.” She told herself under her breath.

  
“Goodbye boys! Take care all of you and please come home before the sun sets! “ She stood by the large window and waved vigorously as she watched their figures disappear into fog and dim out as they walk farther from the orphanage.  
….

  
“Changmin-ah, you have to be faster or we’ll be late for school just like last year!” Junsu whined impatiently as they all raced towards the school’s gate that only seemed five minutes away from them or so.

  
“You think I’m going to run when the rain is pouring hard on us and we might slip on the pavement instead, hyung?” The younger male rolled his eyes and walked in a slow yet constant pace even though he was behind his 3 hyungs who were all rushing a bit faster than him.

  
Yoochun takes out the umbrella from his backpack and fiddles it until it opens only to cover Jaejoong and himself. “Thanks Yoochun.” Jaejoong replied quietly, as they took a sharp turn towards their newly painted silver colored gate.

  
“It looks like they repainted the gates from last year. Last year, those gates were rusty and looked like they were decaying instead.” Junsu ignored Changmin’s question and turned the lock of the gate to swing it open for all of them to enter.

  
Changmin walks over next to Yoochun, squeezing himself in between him and Junsu as he begins to talk more about his new school. “We’re not the highest rating middle school in the entirety of South Korea and neither Seoul, but the people here are okay, the teachers are not that bad and if you’re lucky, you’ll have fun.” He patted the older boy’s shoulder and gave a comforting smile as he may have probably felt the nerves from him.

  
“I guess it probably won’t be that bad.” Yoochun nervously grinned back, tightly gripping on his backpack as he looked up towards the board where sheets of paper were tacked and tapped on who would be in which class. He browsed through hundreds and hundreds of names where he had a difficulty finding his own or those of his friends.

  
 _Kim, Kim, Lee, Hwang, Son, Lee, Lee, Hwang, Kim, Kwang - Jung?_ He froze for a second as he noticed a familiar name under the section of 8-3. Jung Sooyeon. “Or maybe there’s possibly a hundred more Jung Sooyeon’s in his school?” He asked himself. “Jung Sooyeon’s in this school too? I thought she may have gone to some prestigious private school near Gangnam or something?” Yoochun asked Jaejoong without taking his eyes off the student list, while he did the same.

  
Jaejoong nodded as soon as he had finished looking for his name and looked at him. “Her brother and she have been studying here from the start, even if they do have private tutors that they sometimes study with by the weekend. “ He replies. “And you’re in 9-5 with Junsu, while I’m in 9-3 with Changmin. Let’s go.” Yoochun followed Junsu as the four of them split as they started finding their classrooms.

  
His eyes fly from one label to another, looking to see if the plastered “9-5” would be found anywhere, he feels something bump against his left shoulder and rubs his sore spot before the corner of his eye catches a familiar figure. “Sooyeon-ah, I’m so sorry!” An apology comes out of his mouth immediately, his cheeks red out of embarrassment that he had knocked out an acquaintance he had barely been able to get to know.

  
He offers a hand up to assist her as she gets up from the cold, marble ground, which she greatly accepts as she pulled on it securely as she stood up straightly again. “It’s alright, Yoochun – oppa. Were you looking for our class as well?” Her brown colored doe eyes stared right at his as she brushed off the dirt off her skirt and smiled nervously.  
“Yes, I am looking for my class as well.” He scratched the back of his head as he looked around with a confused expression. Suddenly, Yunho comes up beside his younger sister and smiles knowingly at his new friend.

  
“You’re in my class, Yoochun.” He wraps an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner, before the two ran off and continued chattering as they walked to class.  
….

  
It had always confused Yoochun on how everything just seemed to crumble like that when he thought his parents had no problems with one another at all. Every night before he went to bed, he always tried to fix the piece in the puzzle on why was his mother not present during the day of the incident.

  
He would always go to bed thinking about where his mother had been when their father was killed and it horrified him to think if she was probably the one who did this to him. “It’s impossible – Mother really did love father.” He chooses to say that to himself every night, just to be able to sleep peacefully.  
It nearly became a daily habit for him to study just outside the school building in the campus field, with his books neatly piled on the soft, newly cut grass as he rested his body against a wooden tree and shook his head as he was in the process of figuring out his homework.

  
The dawn of afternoon sunlight shone above him, his long eyelashes and prominent cheekbones being his most obvious features even from afar. He was disturbed from his concentration as he felt something moving behind the staunch trunk, the sound of rustling leaves not leaving his ears. He sets aside his book on top and turns cautiously, a heavy feeling in his heart as he anxiously waited for what would appear behind him. _It was Sooyeon_.

  
Her roaring laughter is clearly heard as she pushes her head back as she attempts to hold in her laugh. Yoochun gives a sigh of relief that it wasn’t some dangerous man who would hurt him who jumped out and surprised him, as it was instead just her.

  
“Wouldn’t think that doing that would work for you but it did work for you. I’ve seen you reading here for more than 30 minutes, are you that dedicated to reading your homework?” She looked at him curiously as she sat down next to him, her fingertips reaching the hard bound covers of the books and browsed through the thin leaf pages as she opened them.

  
Yoochun paused for a few seconds before retorting a teasing remark as he resumed his reading. “And what is so special about reading for more than 30 minutes – Does that mean you’ve been watching the whole time?”

  
She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but instead responded defensively and crossed her arms. “What makes you think I’d stare at a boy reading his homework for half an hour?” She chirped tenaciously.  
He then took his turn in laughing, his eyes turning into half-crescent moons and the corners of his lips, arching up as a hearty chuckle was heard from him. “I was just kidding, Sooyeon-ah.” Yoochun ruffled the bangs on her forehead, as she bluffed in annoyance.

  
Sooyeon unzipped her red colored backpack, revealing what was a chain of freshly picked daisy flowers all locked in securely and gently place them on Yoochun’s jet black hair without him knowing. “Here is a crown for a king – The King of the Fools!” She exclaimed as she waited for him to notice that something unusual was on his head.  
Yoochun looked at her with a confused expression before he reached up on the midsection of the top of his head, with the bristles and the petals of white daisy flowers sticking to his fingers. “What makes me the King of the Fools then?” He complained playfully as she giggled at him.

  
“That was the only name I could think of crowning you – Why not, The King of the Stars?” She pouted as she wrapped a finger on her chin and thought carefully, before making an exaggerated gesture as she suggested a new name.

  
“As long as I’m not a fool, bastard or an idiot, it’s probably good. If I’m the King, then you’re Queen?” He jokingly went with the joke, exerting a majestic aura as he proudly showed off his crown for humor purposes.

  
Yoochun looked around to see if any daisy flowers were found on the field that they were lying about, but it seemed that only a few sprouts of chrysanthemum flowers were around. He reached out to grab a bunch and squeezed them lightly between his palms, making sure he wouldn’t squish them to bits.  
She noticed that he had grabbed a vine from the branches of the chestnut tree, curling around his fingers as he tried to figure out how to make one in the midst of the books that have swarmed around him. “Do you even know how to make one?”

  
“No. What would I know about making a flower crown?”  
Sooyeon leaned forward and grabbed the vines and flowers from his arms, only for him to resist her pulling and pull it towards himself instead. “You don’t need to make it for me. You made the one I’m wearing for you.” He explained as he used all of his force to take the vines and flowers from her hands without breaking them into pieces.

  
She gave up trying to take them away from them and instead waited for him to say something instead, which failed. “Want me to help you make one instead?” Sooyeon quietly asked.

  
He nodded as they started to make a flower crown in the middle of the field under a chestnut tree, something he may have never probably thought of doing. Yoochun couldn’t help but just sometimes blank out and stare at her while she was busy explaining on how to make a flower crown with your own bare hands.

  
The way her hair bobbed whenever she laughed, the corners of her eyes tightening when she smiled, how she laughed at nearly everything in his presence and her interest in stars, mythology and in space – It made him feel relieved he had a friend like her.

  
They finished the crown in less than ten minutes, as she neatly placed it on his lap before she told him she needed to go. Yoochun nearly muttered a quick goodbye, but instead quickly locked in the crown on her head and a simple “ _Thank You_ ” was all she said.

  
Yoochun may have sworn that when she smiled before she left, her cheeks went red and she ran off like she couldn’t even look at him in the eye.  
….


	5. part i. chapter v.

….  
The pouring rain hovered over them like a monster in a lake, with gray clouds floating heavily in the sky as raindrops violently dropped on the shining pavement. On the corner, little Yoona sat by the orphanage’s wooden bench by the local part, patiently waiting as she swung her legs playfully and hummed a joyful tune even as she got soaking wet in the rain.

  
Quick and agile footsteps clattered against the ground and got closer and closer, as Yoona looked up in hopes that it would be her brother who would be there. Instead, it was Changmin.

  
Her eyes glittered with delight that someone had come for her after of what seemed like hours of waiting, but instead looked away and tightened her grip on the bench after she realized it was one of her older brother’s friends who seemed like a total stranger to her.  
Round, sheep like eyes stared curiously at her, his rectangle rimmed glasses arched on the bridge of his nose filtering her view from his eyes and his lips quavering on what to say. He sat carefully on the edge of the bench, not too suddenly to scare his friend’s younger sister.

  
“Hi I’m Shim Changmin and I’m one of your older brother’s friends. I’m also Mrs.Hwang’s nephew, so I live just next door. I believe you are Park Yoona, Yoochun’s younger sister?” Changmin speaks up in a friendly and open manner, with a feeling of shame and embarrassment inside of him as he feels like he had messed up as she had not replied immediately.

  
It takes her a few seconds before a cheeky grin and a toothy smile, her two middle teeth beginning to grow out. “You got that right. Now, do you mind to know where my brother is?” She nodded and questioned demandingly, raising her voice against the roaring thunder that erupted like a metal gong.

  
He shook his head and stood up from the bench. He was about to leave without speaking a word or a gesture that he was leaving, yet turned around as he had realized he was about to leave little Yoona alone and Yoochun wouldn’t like that.

  
Changmin approached her and brought out an umbrella in his bag that he had nearly forgotten was in there, the dark shadow wavering over them as Yoona looked at him in confusion.

  
“What are you doing?”  
“I’ll have to bring you back inside to the orphanage.”  
“And why are you doing that?”  
“Because your brother will most likely not be happy seeing you wait for him out in the rain like this.”  
“I do this every time and he comes back at exactly 2:43 pm.” She crosses her arms, still not pleased that he was interfering with a routine that hasn’t been broken since he had gone to school.

  
He scratched the back of his head in frustration and fretfulness, feeling too tired to even argue after a long day of hard work in school. “She’s just as stubborn as he is- Great.” He snickered to himself.

  
“You’ve waited all the time after he’d bus from school when it had been sunny nearly every day since school had started, but things change and it starts to rain, it’s not surprising that the transit system has its delays with weather like this. Come on – Just come in.” He ranted impatiently, voicing out a quick and rushed response before walking over by the orphanage door, waiting for her to come over by the shade.  
“I believe it’s not going to work on me.”

  
“Well I’m not just waiting here for nothing. Do this for your brother - I’m just doing him a favour.”  
Yoona scooted over by the other side of the bench, clumsily sliding over and looking away as she ignored him on purpose.

  
A second bang of thunder was heard nearly just a millisecond after a flash of lightning flew in the sky, goose bumps forming on her arms and the hair on her legs rising in doubt and unease, as she rubbed her hands against her mint colored sweater to feel warmer.  
“I’m going to wait for the whole time if you want until you come in.”

  
The weight of the rain drenching upon the seams of her clothing and the pores of her skin was becoming heavier every minute that has passed from the moment she sat on the bench and as her persistence dies out and her patience shortens, she accepts his plea to enter and lazily scooted over beside him, looking tiny next to his 14 year old self who was more than a head taller than her, being tall for people his age.

  
“I’ll go inside for one condition.”  
“And what is that?”

  
She tiptoed and arched up her neck to be able to even reach the corner of Changmin’s ear, carefully whispering into his ear a somewhat secret message that she only wanted to tell him, as he slowly leaned down to be closer to her height and the two giggled after she had finished whispering and he nodded earnestly to show that he would only keep the secret between themselves.

  
The two’s quiet conversation was interrupted by the roaring thunder that clashed in the background and the playful giggles and teasing that was heard from less than a hundred meters away – it was Yoochun and Sooyeon who were currently running back to the orphanage and were drenching wet as if they had been playing in the rain for hours.  
….

  
Abrupt sneezes filled the dark tinted room and droplets of water dripped endlessly towards the old carpets as they all sat down on the wooden chairs draped in layers of blankets and towels as they eagerly sat in silence as they sipped through their warm noodle soup.

  
Yoochun looks up discreetly to glance across at Sooyeon, who was looking down and embarrassingly kept her head down as she took another sip of her soup, the vibration of her slurping clearly heard from his end.

  
“Children, I just hope next time that all of you would not play in the rain again. I would not like all of you to get sick all at once.” Mrs.Hwang sighed tiredly, wiping off the cold sweat that had spread out on her forehead. She stood up and grabbed a small hand towel for each of the cold, drenching wet children that sat by the dining table.

  
Changmin scratched his head irritably, shaking out the heaps of water that had soaked his hair completely and rubbed it against a soft cotton towel. “I am so sorry, Mrs.Hwang. I just had to wait a bit to bring Yoona in to the orphanage as the rain started to pour harder and by that time Yoochun and Sooyeon had just arrived from school.” He uttered seriously, trying to make his point and seeming like he was telling the truth.

  
Sooyeon panics for a moment and opens her mouth as she was about to speak up, but closed her mouth and looked away as she immediately changed her mind to say nothing at all. Yoochun on the other hand, looked around like a lost deer with a pair of headlights, as he shook his shoulders in confusion.

  
“It would be better that all of you would have stayed inside as soon as it started to rain, alright?” Mrs. Hwang turned around and patiently waited for them to reply, as they responded with a straightforward nod. “Now all of you should take a shower. My goodness, we should let Sooyeon and Changmin get washed here and lend them some extra clothes – “

  
“Mrs. Hwang, It is alright I could just get washed up as I get home. Thank you so much for accommodating me even if I am in this condition.” Sooyeon abruptly stood up and set aside her eating utensils as she respectfully thanked the orphanage caretaker.  
Yoochun turned around in her direction and felt horrible that he got her into trouble by keeping their ongoing conversation for too long even as the rain started to pour above them and bolted up from his seat unexpectedly. “I could just walk her back home, Mrs. Hwang. It is only a block away from here.” He volunteered casually and spoke up in a concerned tone.

  
Mrs. Hwang paused for a few seconds to cautiously think about it and nodded approvingly at the idea that he suggested. “Alright, Sooyeon-ah, If you would really like to get home as soon as possible, is it fine if we have Yoochun walk you back home?” She gently replied at both of them.  
Sooyeon had already been by the doorway wiping her wet shoes against the rubber mat and squeezing the water out of her hair by the time Mrs. Hwang had offered her to be walked home. “I could just walk by myself, Mrs. Hwang. It’s only a few blocks away from here.” She insisted persistently, smiling politely at the middle aged woman.

  
“I know it is only a few steps away from here, but the weather has made it dark and therefore dangerous for a teenage girl like you to walk out in the rain at such a late time like this. I hope you’d let Yoochun walk you home today. ” The orphanage caretaker frowned in outmost concern and crossed her arms seriously as she looked out from their translucent window, dark gray clouds still floating above them and the weight of it clearly seen as the rain had started to pour again.

Yoochun walked over next to her, two thick water resistant jackets in his hands as he handed a khaki colored coat to her and place them over her shoulders as she smiled at him in response. “I’ll be back before sunset, Mrs. Hwang!” He waved as he swung open the door and let Sooyeon out first and then he quickly followed.  
….

  
The dark, gray clouds that were heavily hovering over them had started to drift away as the rays of sunlight start to peak out and the cold, simmering mist in the air had faded out as it became warmer and the atmosphere had become lighter.

  
“I told you that you should have brought an umbrella from the morning!” Sooyeon scolded him playfully, laughing hysterically as he sneezed lightly.

  
“And why would I do that when the weather would become like this?” He teased in reply, zipping up his front zipper higher up to his neck. Yoochun quickened his pace to keep up with how Sooyeon gallantly skipped her way to her house.

  
She turned around to face him and paused right in front of an abandoned bus stop, stepping right into the rusting metal circle that marked the trademark in the area. Sooyeon stood there in silence and observed him carefully as he started at her with a confused expression.

  
“There are many times in our lives that we will have to choose to do what is right and what is against our own principles for our own good, even if it conflicts with our own beliefs. Now, close your eyes.” She spoke to him seriously as the wind blew forcefully against her, the wisps of her fair flying in front of her face.

  
Yoochun reluctantly closed his eyes, unaware of all his surroundings until he heard the distant sounds of footsteps running away from him. After nearly a minute of staying in his spot and closing his eyes shut, he opened his eyes to see a distorted view of his sight, though Sooyeon was nowhere to be found.  
“Sooyeon-ah? Sooyeon?”

  
Soggy leaves bristled against his feet and the ghostly whispers of the air had rung in his ears repeatedly. “Where could she be?” He thought.

  
“I’m not in for your silly games, Sooyeon!” His voices echoed through the hollow pathway, as if he was the only living thing around in the area.

  
A sense of panic formed in his stomach and fear had filled his mind as he thought he had lost Sooyeon this time. He looked around hopelessly, tears forming in his eyes and his fist locking in tight as he was determined to find her. He turned left, right, went forward and went backward- she was nowhere to be seen.

  
“Come on, Sooyeon – I have to bring you back home in time before I get you in trouble!”

  
It irritated him how it seemed as if this pathway going back to the mansion seemed to have no one living near it what so ever, as if this place was only filled with forests, monsters and ghouls that haunt those who have laid them to rest unexpectedly.

  
He took a step forward hastily and took a deep breath while he crossed his fingers tightly as he desperately looked for her in between the bushes or behind the abandoned buildings. Just as he was about to give up and call for help to find her, she jumped out of a rusty metal door that had been loosely attached garage that seemed like it hasn’t been opened for years.

  
Her amused giggles rung loudly in his ears as she burst out laughing and as a result, she fell right flat on top of him and Yoochun felt her weight upon him. Sooyeon’s cheeks turned red as his body warmth crept to her and she could see his features right at such a close proximity.

  
She could hear how quick his heart beats due to the very personal intimacy they were currently at and could not even notice how smitten she was currently in the moment. He admitted to himself that she was short of breath, breathing vigorously through her mouth in embarrassment and uneasiness.

  
Yoochun’s lips nearly touched her own, only missing by a few centimeters as she lay on top of him for what seemed like an eternity to them. He cleared his throat, awkwardly looking away, before she clumsily got off him and wiped the dirt off her skirt and her maroon colored sweater.

  
They continued walking until the front of Sooyeon’s house, with the charcoal colored gate wavering over them and creating a cooler shade that blocked the sunlight from their sight completely. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stood there quietly before gaining the courage to speak up.

  
“Get dried when you get inside before you get sick, alright? Say hi to your brother for me as well.” Yoochun said dryly, jokingly trying to ease off the awkwardness between the two of them.  
Sooyeon pointed her tongue out at him playfully as she rang the doorbell and hoisted her heavy, weighing backpack off her spine and patiently waited for someone to open the gate. “Look who’s talking? Not like you didn’t get wet in the rain either.” She sarcastically uttered in reply, just as they had both started to hear sounds of vibrating footsteps running towards the gate.

  
The black gate swung open, its hinges squeaking noises as if it hasn’t been oiled in years, and Jung Yunho in flesh and bone appeared, a cherry flavored lollipop stuck in his mouth as his curious eyes looked at both of them with a confused expression, until a familiar figure appeared in the corner of his eyes.

  
“I’ve been looking forever for you, you little sheep! Thanks Yoochun-ah for bringing my sister home, especially with the weather being like this. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Yunho sighs in relief and shoos his sister inside through the gate impatiently, sending an indirect glare as she ignored him casually.

  
“Anytime, Yunho-hyung. I’ve become great friends with her as well and it’s been wonderful to get to know both of you. See you tomorrow as well!” Yoochun replies as he starts to walk away and his image starts to blur out from Yunho’s perspective.

  
As soon as Yoochun sees that the metal gate is closed shut and that none of the two of them see him in their sight, he jumps in joy and twirls around from the exploding feeling in his heart. “Is this what love feels?” He asked himself with a grin as he made his way back to the orphanage.

  
….  
His fingers rambled through his backpack with such trepidation, cursing under his breath out of fear that he had lost the most valuable items he had won for the day.

  
He checked through all his pockets in between the corners of his dress pants and shoved his hand down every zipper able to be zipped open from his bag and felt such disappointment that he would have won them for nothing.

  
 _The tickets_. “Where are they?!” Yoochun complained out loud as he furiously grabbed his backpack and flipped it upside down for all the contents to fall out and for him to find the tickets.

  
Just as he loses hope that the tickets may still be in his grasp, two soaking wet and crumpled orange colored pieces of paper plop onto the ground and as soon as it catches his sight, he runs over to them and clutches them with his own hands.

  
Yoochun sets them aside to dry and looks at them carefully, the excitement not being able to be contained as he couldn’t wait to get to school and ask her out for the first time in his life.


	6. Chapter 6

….

_A green, empty hill filled his eye sight and had been in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but a pile of dung and soil surrounding it._

_He had walked by foot for hours and hours to find anything familiar to him in this cluster of unfamiliarity and loneliness, but a rough edged gray tombstone caught his attention and it had read out the name “Park Yoobin”, which was his father’s name._

_It had confused him that nothing else but his father’s gravestone had been found in this isolated landscape, as he was sure that his father would have been buried beside Yoochun’s own grandparents and his aunt at their own native hill they had in possession for centuries, but it seemed otherwise._

_The dusty wind blew into his eyes and formed pearls of tears in between his irises, wiping them off furiously as he quietly sat in front of the gravestone defensively like a shield to a soldier and stared at the surface of the carved stone for what seemed like an eternity._

_The sky was clear from any sight of clouds and the warm sun hovered over him and a shadow from the large, okay tree that was rooted right next to the gravestone created a large shadow over the tomb._

_Yoochun assumed that the police and investigation department had difficulty finding where his family’s ancestral hill had been located and had instead decided to bury him in a distant, empty hill far off in the country where no one had ever decided to lay their dead to rest in a place like this._

_A bouquet of flowers had been placed beside the lonely looking grave where dirt had already been forming around it, with fresh daisies, roses and carnations circling placed in a ceramic vase and had seemed like someone had only recently visited the grave._

_He held on the stem of a white rose from the vase that had been right next to his father’s grave and looked carefully into its petals and roots to make sure that the flowers may have just been recently picked and that probably someone else may have visited his father._

_A sudden stinging pain had pricked his fingers as the watery fluid that drooped between his fingertips had turned scarlet red as he realized that his own blood had been flowing on the thorn hemmed rose._

_Yoochun backs away and drops the rose on the ground, startled by the sudden discomfort and ache he had felt burn on his finger and wiped it against his woolen shirt. He stood up and begun his journey back home, even if he never knew where he was going and did not have any clue where he was currently found._

_An eerie atmosphere had built around him, the sunny and warm breeze suddenly turning cold yet humid as a vague voice had echoed in his ears._

_“Yoochun-ah” He couldn’t believe his own eyes, his father in full form and flesh dressed in all white clothing had appeared in front of him._

_Yoochun stared at his father in surprise and in fear, blinking repetitively to make sure he had been seeing things right._

_“I am so sorry father – I have fled like the fool I am.” Those were the only words he could shamefully spit out and tears flowed out of his eyes like a waterfall._

_His father reached out to pat on his shoulder, a serene sigh that seemed calm and tranquil as he had laid himself to rest._

_“I have forgiven you, my son. All I want you to do while you live are to protect your sister, find your mother and live a good life.” Yoobin smiled sadly as he looked proudly down at his son, walking away towards the bright light of nothing but eternity._

_“Father no please- Come back!” Yoochun grabbed onto his father desperately, his voice throaty as he wanted his father to stay. Yet he could do nothing, as his father kept going towards the light and left Yoochun bawling and in pain on the ground._

_“I just want you to remember that I will always love you and be a good boy, Yoochun – “_

_Crash!_ Yoochun’s eyes flew open as he realized that he had still been peddling on the bike Changmin had lent him and that he had fallen asleep on the way to school.

A throbbing pain had been boiling on the bone of his knee as an open knee had been sliced open as he had cut himself against the tangled metal wires that had been sticking out by the sidewalk.

He scratched his head and sighed painfully as he looked around to look for help and no one had been around to even lend him a hand. The grey fabric located near his knee area had been severely ripped as he had landed wrongly on the ground, his uniform ruined before the school day even started.

Yoochun stubbornly grabbed a ripped piece of cloth from his backpack and tied it around his knee, his eyes shutting tightly as he felt the bloodcurdling pain tighten around his open wound and the blood that had been flowing from it still dripping down his knee.

            His hands gripped on the breaks of the barely scratched bike as he struggled to stand up and lifted his body on top the plastic seat, sharply turning his legs on the pedals as the wheels started to go forward.

He takes a quick glimpse at his mud-covered watch and shook his head at the fact that school would have started in fifteen minutes, and that he was currently seven minutes away. Pedalling continuously as he ignored what he felt on his knee, he rushed just in time before the bell rung in six minutes.

            By the sidewalk, he saw Jaejoong and Junsu walking and laughing heartily as they were also on the way to school as they went there by foot.

            “Hey Chun-yah!” chirped Junsu.

            “Hey Junsu!” he replied.

Yoochun got off his bike and continued walking with Jaejoong and Junsu as they passed through the school’s heavily guarded metal gates.

He locked the bike by the bike racks and slung his backpack from the basket behind him on his back.

            “Where’s Changmin? I’m surprised I haven’t seen him yet today. He told me to bring his bike to school since he left it at the orphanage and lent it to me today.” Yoochun looked around and found it unusual that Changmin’s presence has left a void within the quartet of friends.

            “He recently got sick with the flu from last week. Mrs. Shim still wonders why he’s so sick and Mrs. Hwang just told her he stood out in the rain for a long time a week ago.” Jaejoong answered anxiously, still concerned about his younger friend.

A wistful smile appears on Yoochun’s face as he remembers that Changmin did stay out with Yoona out in the rain when she waited for hours for him. He may or may have not remembered hearing his sister say that she kind of did have a crush on the tall, intelligent student who was her brother’s friend.

            “I’ll probably just bring the bike over to his place when I get home after school.” He shrugged his shoulders and shifted his direction towards his home room with Jaejoong as the three splintered off to their different classes.

            “See you after school, hyungs!” Junsu waved before he ran into the swarm of people by the crowded hallway where they spotted Sungmin and Hyukjae with him as they immediately started a conversation.

The bell rung as Jaejoong and Yoochun hurriedly raced to the best seats found in the room.

….

The warm, spring breeze blew in the air as the flowers blossomed on the grounds and the trees had come back to life after they had all temporarily dried out in the winter.

He sat on the fresh and newly cut grass, his attention completely diverted from society as he listened to music through a precious, hand-me-down cd player which had been given to him by his mother for his birthday the previous year.

            Yoochun had been listening to his music in complete serenity as he eventually laid his body on the grass and closed his eyes as he absorbed himself into the music and ignored everything else that surrounded him.

S.E.S’s “Be Natural” blasts on his blue colored cd player, the jazz synths and the smooth voices of the girl group clearly a symphony to his ears.

He hears one side of the music stop playing on his left ear and panics shortly as the other side of his earplug had been pulled out of his ear, only to realize someone had been listening on the other side.

            “And what are you listening to?” Sooyeon asks.

Yoochun looked at her with a startled expression, moving away a few inches away from her out of surprise and shock.

            “I’m listening to _S.E.S’s Be Natural_ , is it because you like this song?” He asks, still frozen in the moment on the ground.

She stares back for a few seconds, before continuing to listen to the song before it ended abruptly.

            “Well of course – Yunho oppa totally has a crush on the member named Eugene.” She rolled her eyes sarcastically, taking the earphones off her ear and taking out her backpack to take out a couple of snacks and a blanket.

He sets aside his CD player and earphones into his bag in plans to leave, but immediately puts down his bag and sits beside her as a container full of ham and cheese sandwiches are suddenly put in front of him.

Sooyeon takes a piece of tissue and wraps it around a diagonally cut sandwich and handed it within his hands, sitting right next to him as she decided to take a piece for herself as well.

            “And you brought food?” His eyes widen in surprise, though he willingly takes the sandwich into his own hands and bites slowly into it.

            “My mom wanted to thank you for bringing me home safely after school last week, even though I got scolded beforehand for staying in the rain for too long.” Sooyeon shrugs as they sit quietly on the freshly cut grass, the sound of birds chirping and leaves falling heard around them.

It makes him smile to think that even with the busy lives that both live, he’s still able to have placid and peaceful moments like this, even under a tree.

Yoochun may have kept this to himself for months, but the attraction and concern he felt for Sooyeon grew each day and it wasn’t just plainly that he was fascinated by her physical appearance.

From kindergarten, elementary and up to his old middle school, he may have seen much more beautiful and enchanting women that caught other young boys’ attention, but there was just something about her as a person that really kept him unable to stay away.

Sooyeon wasn’t very open to him or even Jaejoong and Changmin at first, only sharing slight glances and polite grins every time she would accompany her mother to the orphanage or deliver mail with Jaejoong across the other street.

It probably took a few more weeks or even months to even properly start a conversation with her, yet that’s what probably made it so special for him.

            “I- I hope you could please extend my thanks to your mother in gratitude, if you wouldn’t mind. You really didn’t have to do all of this for me.” Yoochun said sadly, looking into the empty void in the sky and had slowly shifted his focus away from her.

She frowned, noticing that his mood that significantly dropped and that talking about parental love was probably not the most appropriate topic to speak of, as not even a whole year has passed from the traumatic experience he faced.

            “I’m sorry, Yoochun-oppa – I didn’t mean to talk about it and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings in the first place – “Her voice turned solemn and silent as she looked away from him, scooting over to the other side of the mat.

            “I’m okay, really – Don’t worry about me!” He laughed as realistic and cheerful as he could; choking on the straw of orange juice he was currently sipping on.

Her roaring laughter was heard throughout the field, as she playfully threw a plum at him and hitting him right in the forehead.

In revenge, he grabs her by the waist and they giggle endlessly as they rolled down the high humped hill, being covered in soil and smudged in the scent and color of grass.

The two get tired of their endless tickling and teasing as they rest their bodies on the cold, itchy grass, both short of breath and cheeks red of tiredness and exhaustion.

A thrilling, poignant silence fills the void between the two of them, as they stared at the sky hopelessly with half-crescent eyes that nearly fall asleep and see the sun set and the sky grow dim.

            “Have you ever thought why the world was sometimes just horrible?” She interrupts sharply, voice mysterious yet curious in a quiet, careful voice.

Her words strike him personally, a pain stinging in the core of his heart. It seemed to himself that he was a complete different person from before his father had been wrongfully murdered and his mother being completely out of his sight.

It flashes before him the happy and loving family memories that Yoochun had celebrated and enjoyed with his parents and his younger sister, yet he eventually realizes that those days were over.

Tears unknowingly fall down his eyes, the melancholy and hurting pain of the past completely separating him from the moment. He blinks again and immediately wipes the tears away, not wanting anyone to see that he was suddenly crying after some random question.

            “And why do you ask that? The world has always been cruel and ruthless; it’s just that it’s just been time for us to realize its true façade.” Yoochun sighs sadly, looking away and closing his eyes.

She frowns, turning side wards as she notices his sorrowful disposition on the topic and nudges him by her elbow and hitting him sharply on his stomach, gaining a loud complaint from him.

            “Don’t hit me there! I just ate some food. “He complained as he clutched his stomach, holding in the slight pain she gave him.

            “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m your friend and not some random girl who lives near the orphanage? I’m not just here to watch you stay sad and let you cry about your problems as you sleep. If you ever feel down, never hesitate to talk to me and I will do my best to make you feel better.” Sooyeon angrily scolded him, pointing out how he had still been very closed and reserved when speaking to her, even when they’ve been friends for nearly a year.

            “Alright, Sooyeon-ah - I, Park Yoochun, swear and promise to always tell the truth to Jung Sooyeon.” Yoochun offered his pink instead, reaching it forward towards her and patiently waited for her response.

She smiles suddenly so shyly and coyly at him, slowly reaching out and clasping her pinky around his, laughing together without even noticing that her cheeks had started to flare in a strong red color and the warmth she felt while around him had increased as well.

A disruptive sound rings from a vibrating object found in her bag, painfully ringing even louder as she takes out what was actually her phone and answers the call immediately in panic.

He stands up and sets aside all the food and cloth that had been scattered on the ground, as she was busy dealing with the scolding and the complaints she had been getting from what sounded like her mother.

            “Yoochun-oppa, I have to get going before it gets dark – I’ll see you tomorrow, okay!” Sooyeon quickly threw all of her belongings into her backpack and began to rush off to run back home.

            “Do you want me to accompany you home? It’s dangerous that you might get home after the sun has set!” Yoochun shouts as loud as possible for her to hear, as she stops from her tracks and looks back at him.

            “It’s alright – My dad is sending our driver to pick me up from here, see ya!” She screamed back, shivering slightly at the dropping temperature and knees shaking though she stood straight.

He hesitated for a few seconds, and shook his head gently as he knew if he missed this exact moment – He’d be full of regret for the rest of his life.

            “Sooyeon-ah, would you be free in exactly three weeks from now to see West Side Story with me? I was given free tickets from a friend who wouldn’t be able to make it for the show, and I thought that you may have possibly been interested in those kind of musicals?” He asked firmly, though deep inside him he was nervous that she might reject him harshly instead.

Is he asking me out for a date? Sooyeon asked herself, eyes wandering off as she shortly panicked and bit her lip tightly. She wanted to giggle loudly like some elementary school girl and squeal to give him her permission, but she told herself she was much more mature than that.

            “Sure, just give our house a call so that I could know the time and all the other details.” She nodded calmly, grinning sweetly and she could have sworn the corners of her mouth have been hurting so much after that.

Sooyeon caught sight of the dark black limo her father had owned and entered the back door as held by her family’s driver, though before she entered the car she waved slightly at Yoochun, and naturally, he waved back.

Yoochun waited specifically till the limo was out of sight and that both Sooyeon and the driver would not be able to see his explosive reaction.

As soon as the limo had turned into a vague image of a moving spec of darkness, he jumped in joy and kept screaming out “Yes!” at the top of his lungs, not even caring that his voice may turn hoarse the next day.

He walked himself back home with a broad smile plastered on his face, earning confused and suspicious glares from Junsu and Changmin.

….

 


End file.
